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13th-century mosque hit in Homs fighting 5-14-13

REAL-TIME HIT: A rocket hits the historic Khaled bin al-Waleed […]


14 May 2013

REAL-TIME HIT: A rocket hits the historic Khaled bin al-Waleed mosque in al-Khalediya neighborhood in northwestern Homs. The damage is not immediately clear. The video commentator says the mosque was hit during clashes on Monday as the army attempted and failed to enter the Jouret a-Shayah neighborhood, two blocks away.

The Syrian state media agency SANA said army forces pursued “terrorists” in that area, without mentioning the mosque.

299579 406274119446943 527007056 nAn old photo of Khaled bin al-Waleed mosque. Image courtesy of al-Khalediya Media Office.

The mosque of Khaled bin al-Waleed was built in the 13th century and then rebuilt during the Ottoman era in the 19th century. The mosque has nine entry gates, two slim minarets and nine domes. It was named after Khaled bin al-Waleed (592–642), the great Arab military general and companion of the Muslim prophet Muhammad who conquered the Roman Syria. Muhammad called him “God’s Drawn Sword.”  The bombed mosque is the home of his grave.

A number of historic sites and mosques have been damaged in Syria’s civil war, including the Ancient Mosque of Barzeh in Damascus, the Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo, and al-Omari Mosque in Daraa, one of the first places the uprising began in March 2011.Video courtesy of abogmal homsi YouTube channel.

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